Avoiding candid conversations about succession and retirement can damage organizations, stall emerging leaders' careers, and leave longtime executives unprepared for their next chapter. These discussions should focus on performance and organizational needs rather than chronological age, while acknowledging the questions of identity and purpose that make stepping aside difficult. Four principles can help: Separate succession from assumptions about age, make it an ongoing dialogue, discuss what gives people meaning beyond work, and frame transitions as a responsibility to the organization and its future leaders.
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